Some features at TDECU Stadium won't be ready in time for season opener

By Joseph Duarte |
August 24, 2014
| Updated: August 24, 2014 8:10pm

TDECU Stadium at the University of Houston seen in an aerial view on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Houston. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )
City: Houston
Location: South Side
GPS: N29°43.472' W95°20.874'

Photo By Brett Coomer/Staff

The shape of the Houston skyline is part of the north end zone at TDECU Stadium.

Photo By Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle

TDECU Stadium at the University of Houston seen in an aerial view on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Houston. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )
City: Houston
Location: South Side
GPS: N29(degrees)43.393' W95(degrees)20.836'

Photo By Smiley N. Pool/Staff

TDECU Stadium at the University of Houston seen in an aerial view on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Houston. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )
City: Houston
Location: South Side
GPS: N29Â°43.243' W95Â°20.847'

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

3. UH to debut new stadium

The Coogs will host a nationally televised game against UTSA on Friday, Aug. 29, to debut the new TDECU Stadium. UH is coming off an 8-5 overall campaign, with quarterback John O'Korn back after a record-setting freshman season.

Photo By David J. Phillip/STF

The west end zone will feature a silhouette of the downtown Houston skyline.

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Upper level seating at TDECU Stadium is shown during a tour of the stadium on the University of Houston Campus Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014, in Houston. TDECU Stadium is scheduled to open on August 29, went UH plays the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Some minor finishes won't be completed before Friday's opening game at TDECU Stadium, University of Houston vice president of intercollegiate athletics Mack Rhoades said Sunday.

Rhoades said a majority of the 40,000-seat stadium is complete and the finishing touches will be mostly unnoticeable. Construction on the on-campus stadium began in January 2013 following the demolition of Robertson Stadium.

"Eighteen months is a pretty short timeline to build a 40,000-seat stadium," Rhoades said Sunday as UH opened the stadium to the public for the first time. "We just ran out of time and trying to get stuff done at the last minute."

Among the items that won't be in place until after the Sept. 6 game against Grambling State: an auxiliary scoreboard/video board that will hang from the southeast corner and ribbon boards that will cover between the 20-yard lines on the north and south sides.

Three of the naming rights signs – part of a 10-year, $15 million deal with Texas Dow Employees Credit Union - will be installed on the stadium's exterior by Friday, with two others to come later.

All concession stands "will be up and running 100 percent," Rhoades said. Two LED boards featuring statistics and advertisements are scheduled for installation this week.

"First and foremost, all the safety issues are taken care of," Rhoades said. "We want this to be a great place for our fans. Now we just need to win a game."

A crowd of 10,273 attended Sunday's UH Community Day at the new stadium.